The love of your life
by LeontillyBalambgirl
Summary: Years passed,first love faded to heartache.But time heals.Rinoa has moved on,now engaged to the man she loves.But when Squall returns after 3 long years he brings her new life crashing down.Was he a first love?A lost love?or the love of her life?[Ausequel
1. The new beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own ff8 or its original characters. But any OCs that pop up in this I do own lol**

**A/N: SEQUEL!!!!! Yeppities I promised'yall a sequel to Love never comes easy and this is it!!!!!!!! Ok I will warn you this is a somewhat odd approach to the story. As,as you will see, Squall and Rinoa are not together in it. Shock horror. But…well the summary says it all. THIS IS A SQUINOA This chapter may not seem highly sequelish, but trust me as it goes on you will see why it is a sequel and it will have flashbacks and stuff to the time between the end of the last story and this one yes sum? But you can read it without having read the one before it probably. Alright. Then lets get on with it, read and let me know what you think and if you want me to continue xx**

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Rinoa Heartilly sat forward in her chair, the sound of chatter from other tables and the soft music filled her ears and the flames of the candles flickered romantically in front of her.

She knew there had to be a reason her boyfriend had brought her here tonight. Ordinarily on weekday nights they just stayed and ran the pub together, but tonight he had insisted that they go out to the most romantic restaurant in town. He took her hands and pulled them towards him form where he sat across from her

"Rinoa" he said softly "you must know there's a reason I asked you here tonight"

Rinoa nodded

"well..it's just that you're such an amazing person and this past year has been the most incredible year of my life. You make me so happy. Just being around you, knowing you gives me a reason. I love you Rinoa"

"I love you too jay. More than anything"

"And…I want to be with you, forever. What I'm saying Rinoa is…will you marry me?"

Rinoa felt excitement flutter through her whole body. She was completely speechless.

"and I know a year may not seem like a very long time but…I think we're ready Rinoa. I really want to be with you forever. Please say yes" Jay said, his dark eyes full of anticipation and hope.

Rinoa paused for a moment. This had come as a surprise to her. She knew her and Jay were serious, but she had no idea he had been planning to propose. Then again, it was a good thing. It was an amazing thing. He wanted to commit to her for the rest of their lives. And she felt the same way, she wanted to spend her whole life with him.

Taking a deep breath she said "Yes. Yes I'll marry you"

A huge smile spread across Jays face and he leant across the table and kissed her deeply. "I'm so happy" he said, sitting back and taking her hands.

"Me too" Rinoa said barely able to contain her happiness as her new fiancé slid a sparkling ring onto her finger. A beautiful diamond sparkled in the candlelight, nestled between two rubies.

Rinoa couldn't help but smile. In fact she felt like jumping up and down and dancing around. She was engaged. And to the perfect man, her Mr right.

For once everything in her life was going right….

She had met Jay Marquez a year and 2 months ago and it had been an instant attraction. Not surprising since he was absolutely gorgeous. He had thoughtful dark eyes and long dark hair that fell just past his shoulders which he often tied loosely in a pony, with just a few strands hanging here and there. The first time Rinoa ever saw him was on her third day of working in Timber Record shop. She'd been living in Timber for a year and a half at the time but could never seem to stick with a job for too long, so she'd had several different occupations all of which lasted about a day. She just could not find anything she loved. Nothing, at first, was a big enough distraction to take her mind of why she had moved from Balamb, what she had left behind. But after a year and a half she was finally moving on, or at least starting to and the record store job suited her perfectly. It was lively, fun and she was already making friends. But on her 3rd day, things changed completely and for the better. Jay had come to return a CD he had bought and was ever so patient and friendly with her while she took over 20 minutes to return his money because shed never done refunds before

"I'm really sorry about this" she told him as she pushed random buttons on the computer

"it's okay, I'm not in any hurry" he said, talking a strand of dark hair behind his ears "I'm enjoying the spectacle" he said with a little grin. Rinoa was pretty sad when she actually did manage to work it and handed his money over and he left with a huge smile, saying "I should return stuff more often"

Jay was actually the first guy Rinoa had found herself really attracted to since she'd moved to Timber when she was 20 a year and a half before, so she was quite annoyed that she didn't say anything. Like offer him a cup of coffee or something. She watched him head for the exit, but just as he reached it he was stopped by Christina, one of the shop staff, and one of the girls Rinoa had stared to become friends with. Rinoa had made friends pretty quickly at her job and she was lucky in the respect that one of the girls who worked in the shop was a girl she knew from high school back in Deling, Callie Taran.

So she had at least one person to talk to, but she had also made friends with Christina, the bubbly blonde from Esthar who seemed to be permanently happy. So Rinoa was very intrigued when she saw her stop Jay and even more intrigued when she saw her give him a quick hug!

They knew each other! So when Christina headed back to the checkout with a pile of CDs that needed checking Rinoa couldn't help but ask her about it

"hey that guy you were with, did you um know him?" she asked trying to keep her tone casual

"Which guy?"

"You were just talking to him over there."

"Oh yeh, Jay. That's Jay."

"okay." Rinoa had been hoping for more of an explanation than that

"He's my boyfriends brother." Christina said casually "Why?"

"oh, nothing…I……." Rinoa felt a little embarrassed now.

"She thinks he was hot" Callie said appearing from nowhere, with a pile of CDs

"Callie!!"

"Oh please Rinoa, you were practically drooling over the counter"

"Oh no! do you think he noticed?" Rinoa panicked. Had she been that obvious?

"Don't worry" Christina said "Jay is totally dense when it comes to stuff like that"

"it's like he doesn't know he's gorgeous." Callie sighed

"hey, I know!" Christina suddenly jumped up "It's Zacks birthday tomorrow so there's a big party!"

"Who is zack?"

"Oh, that my boyfriend. Jays brother. So yeh, Jay would be at the party. Whay don't you guys come, and then maybe Rinoa and Jay can get to know each other better. He's single ya know!"

"So are you Rinoa, it's like fate" Callie said with mock seriousness

So Rinoa did go to the party and she and jay really hit it off. In fact they had their first date the next night. Jay was only a little older than Rinoa-she was 21 and he was 23, but still so youthful and fun.

He owned the Auphora pub in Timber-his parents had turned it over to him when he was 21 so they could go off and travel the world. He had one brother-being Zack-and 2 sisters, neither of whom lived in Timber. Rinoa ended up finding out so much about him just on that first date and by the third date they trusted each other enough to tell each other the important things, the secrets. Jay told Rinoa about his childhood-it had not been happy. In his teen years he had acted out a lot, wrong friends, wrong habits.

When he was 19 he was arrested for driving under the influence and crashing his fathers car into the side of a building. But he'd learned from that, he knew he needed to change his life, and thankfully he did. Rinoa hadn't admitted to jay about her childhood, her father and what she had suffered. She had still only ever told one person that. But she told him everything else, she admitted why she had moved to timber, what she had moved from. After that things just progressed so quickly, and it all felt so right. She moved in with him after 6 months and now, after a year they were engaged. And she was happy…blissfully happy.

But that night, after she got back form the restaurant ,she just could not sleep. She lay there staring at the ceiling, doubts starting to creep into her mind. She knew she should know her and Jay were forever. She should have accepted straight away that's that what engagement meant. Forever. But it didn't last time…..

Lat time it wasn't forever, she didn't even make it to the wedding. It all went so wrong.

Rinoa had been engaged to the person she thought was the love of her life, Squall Leonhart. He had proposed to her after a year and a half of them being together, when she was 18 and he had just turned 19. At the time, Rinoa really thought they would be together forever. They were so in love, and had been since they were 17. True, they had not exactly met conventionally, but they'd come through a lot together; her father, the whole business with Seifer. She had run away from Deling and ended up in a pretty dangerous situation, Squall had been the one to save her and she ended up in Balamb garden. But she became involved with Seifer, not realising for so long that Squall had major feelings for her, and she had been repressing her own feelings for him because he was dating someone else. But the everything just seemed to fall into place. Rinoa could remember it all as if it was yesterday, how happy they had been, how much love there was, but she could also remember how it had all fallen apart…..

That's why she moved to Timber. She had to get away from Balamb, put Squall behind her and move on. And it had taken her a while, in fact until she fell in love with Jay, she thought she would never move on. But now she was engaged to jay. She hadn't been to Balamb or seen Squall for 3 whole years. That was then, and this was now. And now she loved Jay

"Squall Leonhart" she whispered to herself "I'm finally over you."

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**Sure, whatever you say lol. Muhahahhahaha. Well anyway. Love to know what you think of that. I'll continue if you want. By the way it is gone into in much more detail what happened with squalll and Rinoa in later chaptersHmm all I got to say is, even if some of the stuff in this seemed pointless, its not, it all comes into it later.As I said it gets more sequely soon, there are a few ocs but the original characters are back and main soon. Fear not squall fans, he is in the next chapter! and oh yeh if the proposal seemed kinda similar to the one from Love never comes easy, that was intentional, and …we'll you'll see. hope you like.**


	2. it's a small world

**Disclaimer: I don't own ff8.…but one day Squall will be mine!**

**A/N: well hello. Yes another chapter! Many thanks to all you lovely lovely people from last chapter: Kuro Kin'youbi, AngelWings, acho111, SJsilver, rinnyheartillyizawesome, Leonharted, Sayuri21, CrazyTurkey, Rebekka, Rinoa2005, lilnaych, Rinny Leonheart, Selphie ivy and Zellycat. Hmm so general feeling was lots of wondering what happened to squall and Rinoa. Well you find out next chapter I promise and there are some familiar characters who crop up in this chapter….read on and see what you think….thanks x**

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"Morning hunny" Rinoa said cheerily as she walked into the sunny yellow kitchen the next morning. It was the first morning of her knew life as Jays fiancé , a new life she was sure was going to go so well.

"Morning" Jay said, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards him "Sleep well?"

"Yep" Rinoa nodded, kissing him.

"Are you working to day?"

"yeah, in an hour unfortunately" Rinoa sighed "but I am looking forward to telling Callie and Christie my news" she grinned, "that reminds me, how would you feel about having an engagement party, like next week maybe?"

Jay leant down and kissed her "If it is a party you want, then a party it shall be" he said with his trademark smile "I trust you'll be consulting Callie and Christie, professional party planners"

"Well I don't think I'll have a choice…you now how they get when they here the Word 'party'"

"yes indeed" he grinned " so are you planning to tell almost everyone you know and invite them all?"

"well of course!" she smiled

"Hmm" Jay said "I wonder if I should tell my sisters and my parents. That would require speaking to them though"

Rinoa knew that Jay didn't particularly get on well with his family. They didn't really speak about family much. Jay more recently learned the truth in some small part about Rinoas family and so it was a subject neither wanted to discuss. But Rinoa did know that aside form his brother Zack, he had a sister Evie who lived in Trabia and another sister who he did not get on with and never really talked about. All Rinoa knew about her was she was younger than him and lived somewhere pretty far away.

"Oh yeh, what about your other sister, your younger sister. Where does she actually live?"

"Oh, I think she lives in Balamb, in that Garden place"

Rinoa froze "She's a SeeD?"

"oh yeh, I suppose she might have been around there the time you were. You might know her. Well, at least that's were I assume she is, we haven't spoken since she left. It must have been like…7 years nearly"

Rinoa thought back to the years she was in Garden. She didn't remember meeting any Marquezs

"What's her name? I don't think I met anybody Marquez"

"Oh she doesn't use Marquez, she took my moms name. She uses Reynolds, Tanya Reynolds."

Rinoa felt her blood run cold. Tanya Reynolds? As in the Tanya Reynolds?

The Tanya Reynolds that was in fact Tanya, Squalls Ex? Throughout the whole time Rinoa had liked Squall before they got together, he was with Tanya. This was absolutely unbelievable. She was engaged to her ex fiancés, ex girlfriends, brother?

"Are you okay Rin?" Jay asked at her sudden silence

"oh, um yeh" Rinoa decided it was probably best not to mention it to Jay just yet. It was years ago. Besides which, she had never gone into much detail with Jay about her relationship with Squall, only how long they were together, how they split up and what brought her to Timber. She had never even told him exactly how they got together. She hardly ever thought of that herself anymore "I don't think I know her"

"I'll probably have to ask my mother where she is. She probably wont care anyway, its not like we've ever got on."

"Yeh" Rinoa said distractedly "anyway I think I'm going to go and make some calls before I go to work"

":Spread the good news and all?" Jay said, hugging her.

"yeh" Rinoa kissed him and then headed upstairs to her room. She knew exactly who she had to call first. The only person who would understand. After locking the door and sitting on the bed, she dialled a familiar number.

After several rings the cheery voice answered "Hellooooooo?"

"Selphie!"

"Rinoa? Is that you? It's so good to hear from you."

Rinoa had tried to keep in touch with Selphie after she left Garden, and she spoke to her about once a month. Selphie and Irvine had also come to visit her in Timber about half a year ago, but she had not been back to Garden since 3 years ago. Selphie was still there, she still was friends with Zell and Squall and dating Irvine, everyone was there except her. But she could not go back. Too many memories.

"I have news." Rinoa said excitedly

"ooh spill!" Selphie squealed

"I'm engaged!"

"oh my gosh! Jay proposed?"

"Yeh! Lat night! And I said yes!"

"Oh, Rinoa I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, I'm so happy too. But you'll never guess what I just found out."

"What?"

"Jays sister, well one of them, is Tanya."

"Tanya, Tanya" Selphie muttered to herself as if trying to remember something "the Tanya?" she asked suddenly

"Yeh, that Tanya" Rinoa sighed. It was like no matter what she did she couldn't escape her old life.

"that must be so weird, you guys are going to be…sisters in law."

Rinoa sighed again. Her ex's ex's sister in law. It was way to weird.

"That's a point" Selphie said suddenly.

"What is?"

"Are you…are you going to tell him. Squall, I mean? Are you going to tell him your engaged?"

Rinoa had to think for a minute. Was she going to tell Squall? She hadn't seen him in 3 years, hadn't spoken to him. Could she really ring up out of the blue and say she was engaged. She wanted to put him behind her. In fact, she had put him behind her.

"I don't think I am" She said into the phone

"really" Selphie said, sounding a little shocked.

"Well, Selphie, I haven't heard from him in 3 years, since the day we broke up. I'm not exactly going to be inviting him to the wedding, so what's the point, why stir all the past up again."

"I suppose. But Rinoa, can I ask you something, a little personal?"

"Okay" Rinoa said hesitantly.

"Do you ever…think about him?"

There was silence for a few minutes as Rinoa thought about Selphies question. Being truthful to herself, she knew the answer. Yes, she did. Every now and then she would think about him. Think of how he acted, how he talked, how he looked, how they were when they were together. But that was natural, she had been in love with him. She had moved on, and she loved Jay, but she couldn't deny that she did love Squall once. He was her first love, it wasn't like she was just going to completely forget him. But she had moved on now and it was only on rare occasions she ever thought about him.

"Now and then" she admitted to Selphie

"I see" she responded carefully.

"well, I have to go Selphie. But can you do me a favour, and if you see him, don't tell him."

"Don't worry, he's out on a mission at the moment."

That didn't surprise Rinoa. He was constantly off on missions when they were together. It was one of the things that had contributed to their relationship coming to an end. But as soon as Rinoa hung up the phone and headed out for work, she shook the thoughts from her head. It was her past. What did it matter now?

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"Let me see the ring!" Callie demanded as soon as Rinoa walked into work.

"Huh?"

"The ring! Let us see it!" Christina chimed in, jumping up and down.

Rinoa held out her hand fro her friends who admired the sparkling diamonds "how did you guys know?"

"Well we've known for ages. Jay told Zack, Zack told Christie, she told me." Callie explained.

So instead of work, which they seemed to do very little of, they set about planning Rinoas engagement party. Callie and Christie had even taken the liberty of bringing in piles and piles of invitations and stamps so, as Callie put it, they could waste work time, instead of spending their free evenings stamping and addressing them all.

So with the occasional break to actually serve some customers, they sat down and decided who to invite. And with Callie and Christie chiming in the list suddenly became very long! After her shift, Rinoa rang to check all the arrangements with Jay, who agreed as he said he did not dare risk with Callie and Christina when it came to parties. So with his agreement she stopped off at the post office on the way home to get the invitations sent.

Much to her annoyance there was a massive queue that stretched nearly the length of the whole shop. She must have waited for nearly an hour in line untill she got to the desk.

"I need to send all these" she said to the girl behind the counter. The girl carried on filing her nails and blew a bubble in her gum before saying "Sign this" and shoving a piece of paper across the desk.

"Do you have a pen?" Rinoa asked, but the girl didn't bother answering her. Eventually a man behind her handed her a pen and she signed the form and sent the things. But glancing at her watch she realised it was much later than she thought. She turned around quickly to leave but as she did she managed to smack directly into someone and a whole bunch of folder went skidding across the floor.

"I am so sorry" she blushed, dropping down to the floor to pick up all the files. She scooped them all up and then stood up to hand them back. That's what she planned to do…but when she stood up she froze completely. Because when she stood up she found her self staring fixatedly at the person she had bumped into. And that person was Squall Leonhart.

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**Omg Squally is back!! Hehehehhehehehehe!!!!!well I hope you liked the chapter and let me know what you think. And yep next chapter you will find out what happened with the two of them and then we get really into the main point of the story. Thanks guys xx**


	3. past and present

**Disclaimer: I don't own ff8.**

**A/N: Another chapter. You find out what happened with Squall and Rinoa in this one. Btw I have a thing for this story now that each chapter will begin with a song lyric or quote that goes with the chapter. Anyway many thanks to that belle, crazy turkey, rinnyheartillyizawesome,Rinoa2005, Sjsilver, lionhearted, r, sayuri21,angelWings, EmoDiva, black winged white angel and rinny Leonhart. You guys rock. The italics is flashback. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**-**_i've become tired of wasting my time, thinking about choices that i've made...i cant move forward while looking behind...-_**  
**

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S**quall Leonhart? For a few seconds, Rinoa felt completely frozen. Squall Leonhart, her ex fiancé was standing right in front of her. Squall, her ex fiancé who she had not seen for 3 years.

"S-Squall?"  
"Hey, Rinoa!" he said, looking slightly shocked himself.

Rinoa was not quite sure how to react to this situation. She had not been prepared for this at all. But part of her was almost…scared. Then, part of her was a little happy. Squall had been a huger part of her life, and sometimes she wished she hadn't left it all behind completely. She had avoided him all those years, not out of bitterness or hate, just because there was such an attachment, so much emotion. But maybe it had been long enough now…maybe they could be friends.

Feeling it was the right thing to do, Rinoa hugged Squall and said "I …I cant believe it!"

"I know! It's been …what, 3 years?"

"It's certainly been a while. How have you been?"

"good, I've been good. You?"

"Great. I just…I still cant believe this…it's so strange."

"I know."

"Um…you want to maybe, get some coffee? Catch up?" Rinoa asked.

Part of Rinoa was scared still, but part of her really wanted to just sit with him, to talk to him, to find out how he had been. She had always thought she didn't care, but it is amazing what changes when someone is standing right in front of you. Seeing him was bringing back so much to her.

"yeh, that would be good." he smiled, that same captivating smile he had always had, but hardly used "Let me just send all these files." he sighed. He turned around to the girl on the counter and handed her all the files. "could you send them all to Balamb garden please?"

"Sure thing" the girl grinned, "you just need to sign this"

"Don't have a pen."

"Here" the girl purred "you can use mine."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. Sure, now she had a pen. Now she wanted to be helpful. Then again, Rinoa wasn't surprised given that Squall looked like…Squall.

The time since she'd last seen him seemed only to have done him good. He was a lot taller than he had been and slightly broader across the shoulders. His hair was pretty much long and flippy like it had always been, with that fringe that hung just right except now it was a bit darker, and he still had the scar and those amazing eyes…no wonder she had a pen.

When they were done at the post office they headed to the nearest café.

"So, what brings you to timber?" Rinoa asked him over coffee.

"Mission." he said, taking a sip.

"Oh. I live here." Rinoa explained.

"Oh, so this is where you came…after…."

"Yeh. I like it here. It's pretty peaceful."

"you're engaged" Squall said.

"W-what?" How had he known that? "How did you know…?"

"Your wearing a ring.", he laughed a little.

Rinoa had no idea how Squall would take it, but he seemed to be doing fine. It had been 3 years after all. But then again, Rinoa couldn't help but wonder, if he was engaged, would she be taking it so well?

"Oh, yeh. Only since last night though!"

"Congratulations Rinoa" he said, sounding genuinely happy for her.

"Thanks. So how are things, back at Garden?"

"Good, they're good. The usual really."

"Lots of missions still?" Rinoa asked, still remembering how much he had been away when they were together.

"Well, not so many now, they kind of promoted me to commander. I don't do too many myself anymore."

Squall was commander of Garden? Why had Selphie never mentioned that?

"Commander? Wow, congratulations."

"Thanks. But its mostly just a lot of paperwork."

"I…I still cant believe how weird this is." Rinoa laughed. It was completely surreal to her. Part of her couldn't stop thinking about when she was with Squall. And …everything they'd done in that time.

"I still cant believe your engaged" Squall said.

"I know. Me either, really. It's still sinking in. But I'm really happy."

"I'm happy for you. So when are you getting married?"

"We haven't decided yet. Its all a big shock to me too."

At that point, a cell phone rang loudly. It was Squalls, but it actually reminded her that she should probably get home or Jay would be worried.

"Leonhart" he said by way of answering his phone. "Yes. Yeh…yes. Alright. I'll call you in a minute." he said before hanging up the phone. "I should go."

"oh yeh, me too." But oddly, Rinoa really did not want to go, at least part of her wanted to stay. She was actually having a good time catching up with Squall. It was amazing that after 3 years he still made her feel some of the things she did all those years ago. Some of them, not all of them-she loved Jay now and she was definitely over Squall. So, surely there was no harm in them being friends?

"Listen, I'm having an engagement party next week. I mean, if you're still in town you should come. Selphie and Irvine and Zell are coming, you should come too!"

"Ok, sure." he said "Why not."

She wrote down her address and phone number on one of the napkins and gave it to him. "I should get going, but it really was so great to see you."

"You too. It's been a while."

…..

A while. 3 years was certainly a while. Yet…it seemed some feelings lasted 3 years. Because as soon as she walked away and started heading home, so much came flooding back to her. She had been happy with Squall for a long time. She had loved him he had loved her. She had almost married him. So when she saw him it was not even possible for her to feel nothing. But all of a sudden she was feeling too much, it was confusing her. She started remembering all the good times, but that lead her into remembering how it had all gone so very wrong…

It had been about 2 years since they got engaged when things started to get bad. They had decided on a long engagement, both of them being sure they would marry eventually. Originally they had planned to marry early on, but so many things got in the way they decided to leave it until they both had an opening in their life were they could concentrate completely on the wedding. Squall had offered repeatedly to leave his job, but Rinoa wouldn't let him. She dint want him to give up his life, his work, for her. For her being engaged was enough. She knew, regardless of time and dates they would always be together and they knew that eventually they would marry and it would be perfect. But as time went on, that certainty started to fade away.

It was shortly after Rinoas 20th birthday that it all blew up. Rinoa had noticed Squall had become increasingly cold and distant as time went on. He was off on missions more and more and when he was there, he seemed different somehow. It was like he stopped being there for her. And of course Rinoa could do nothing but worry. Worry she'd done something, worry something was happening to him, worry he just didn't love her anymore….

Rinoa remembered with all too much clarity the night it had all became to much and her perfect romance had gone up in flames…

_It was around 1.20 in the morning, 3rd April, Rinoa remembered. Squall walked through the door, and lay down on the bed, no explanation, no anything._

"_it's nearly 1.30. Where have you been?" Rinoa asked_

"_Working."_

"_Until 1.30?"_

"_Yes. Are we done with the inquisition now, can I get some sleep?"_

"_What's wrong?" Rinoa asked immediately. Squall had been getting like this a lot lately. Short, snappy and harsh. It usually meant something was wrong. That was one thing Rinoa had always known about Squall, there were times he could be like 2 different people. He, to her, was mostly the sweetest and most caring, protective guy there was. But she also knew he had a side to him where he wasn't particularly nice. Rinoa was rarely on the receiving end of this side of him, but it had become more frequent that she was._

"_Nothing."_

"_Something is wrong. I know it."_

"_nothing is wrong Rinoa. Well, except you constantly questioning me when I'm trying to sleep."_

"_Why are you being like this Squall? What did I do."_

"_Oh my lord" he sighed "This is not about you. Now would you please just let me sleep."_

"_No. I think…I think we need to talk Squall. You're acting different lately."_

_No, I'm not."_

"_You are!" Rinoa said, becoming increasingly angry with him "you can't keep treating me like this."_

"_Then stop annoying me!" he snapped._

_Rinoa felt tears running down her cheeks by this point. She had always been comforted by the fact that no matter how much changed or how much went wrong, she could always count on Squall to make her feel better. She could go to him with anything and he would always be there. But all that seemed to be tumbling down. What was happening to them?_

"_We can't just ignore this problem Squall." she yelled!_

"_What problem Rinoa? I don't have a problem. You do. You always seem to have a problem."_

_Rinoa was starting to seriously worry. Squall was not acting at himself. They had fought before and Rinoa had seen him get mad, but she had never seen him quite this nasty. There had to be something wrong._

"_I do not always have a problem."_

"_oh please Rinoa, yes you do. It's always been that way and you've always just expected me to solve it."_

"_What are you even talking about?"_

_They were both yelling so loudly now that they probably could have woken up half of garden._

"_oh come on. Ever since we met you've always needed to me to solve your problems. Like how you ran away and got yourself in a whole heap of trouble and then you got into that mess with Seifer.."_

"_Squall!" That hurt. Why was he dragging all this up? It was all years ago._

"_Well it's true isn't it! Then that thing with your father, that was the next drama."_

"_How can you even say that! It was not a drama it was a serious problem, he was hitting me."_

"_And I am beginning to see why." he yelled "you never shut up."_

_That hurt Rinoa more than anything else in the world could have. How could he even say that? How could he even bring that up? It was all too much to hear and she did not handle hearing it very well._

"_You…you complete bastard" she sobbed before pulling her ring off her finger and throwing it at him._

_She had no idea what to do or were to go she just ran out of the room and down the halls, crying hysterically. _

_Then she didn't see Squall for a couple of days. She couldn't bring herself to. Until after a few days, when he came to see her. Unfortunately though, it happened at a very bad time. Rinoa had not known what to do with herself the nights since it happened and most mornings she woke up hung-over and regretting something from the night before. But this morning, she had something very particular to regret._

_She wasn't even sure who the guy she woke up next to was. She just heard the knocking on the door and opened it. She wasn't sure if she was happy to see Squall or not._

"_Rinoa. I…" but he froze up when he glanced past her and his gaze settled on the stranger in her bed. "never mind" he said angrily, turning and walking off._

"_Squall, wait!" she called as she followed him down the corridor and to his room._

"_I'm sorry" she said instantly. She really was sorry._

"_Right, sure you are." he said dismissively._

"_I ma Squall really. But its not like you and me…"_

"_no. You're right. We're not. But you seem to have gotten over it pretty quick. Weren't that concerned I assume"_

"_that isn't fair. I was all over the place…you hurt me Squall. What you said to me…"  
"I know." Squalls expression and tone softened "I never meant that. And I am so sorry."_

"_What…what happened to us Squall?" she whispered._

"_I wish I knew."_

_Then they talked for several hours. A whole day almost. And gradually they both came to the same conclusion, a conclusion they had never thought they would reach: it was over._

_The decision was almost mutual, equally hard on them both. She cried, he held her. Still, they both knew it wouldn't work. It had changed between them. Maybe they were too different…maybe they were to young. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be._

_Rinoa decided it was best to leave almost straight away. They both decided not to stay in contact, because it would be to hard. But the last thing he told her was that ever she ever really needed him…he would always be there for her. Then she left. She left it all behind…_

Rinoa came out of her memory, tears now dripping down her cheeks. She knew, that part of her would never get over it all.

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**Hope you liked it. I will be doing more soon. Xx lemme know what you think.**


	4. The party

**AN: hey! So sorry for the delay I've been like sooo busy! But here it is. So much thanks to all who've been reading so far. I love ya guys XX**

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"What's wrong Sweetie?" Jay asked as soon as he saw Rinoa walk in "Have you been crying?"

"Um…oh no I haven't. It's just…this eye make up..it really stings."

"oh, alright, sweetie."

"You want me to help out?"

"Sure. Pretty busy actually. If you don't mind that is."

"Of course not." Rinoa said happily. She was glad he'd said yes, she needed something to do to take her mind of what had just been going on. Rinoa helped out at the pub most nights and she loved it. She would serve drinks, but also sometimes just chat with the regulars.

"I got you something" Jay said, appearing from behind Rinoa and wrapping his arms around her waist. Rinoa felt instantly comforted by this and she remembered how she really and truly loved Jay.

"Something else?" she giggled "the proposal was enough!"

"You'll like this…it's shiny." he smiled, handing her a little blue bag. Inside the bag was a little box. Rinoa opened the blue velvet lid and saw the most beautiful necklace ever. It was a diamond heart, hanging from a long, delicate chain.

'Jay! It's beautiful!"

"Well not as beautiful as you. But as close as anything is gonna get."

Rinoa wrapped her arms around him and drew him into a long kiss.

"Hey hey hey, public place." Callie, who had appeared at the bar without Rinoa noticing, said as she sat down at the bar.

"Hey Callie." Jay said.

"Look, look!" Rinoa held up the necklace to show her friend.

"Oh wow. Now I'm jealous. You get a proposal and diamonds? I'm single and my necklace cost 3.50...and I bought it myself.!"

"Unlucky." Rinoa grinned. Because she knew herself she was very lucky. She couldn't be happier with Jay. Although maybe she would be a little happier if she had never bumped into Squall. She was happy to see him in a way, but now everything between them was going around in the back of her mind. She wondered if she could tell Callie. They were after all best friends, at it may make her feel better if somebody else knew. Maybe Callie could even help her understand all the crazy mixed up things she was feeling.

"hey Callie, could I just have maybe a private word with you?"

"Oooh gossip?" Callie said her eyes shining.

"Sort of. You wanna come through to the back?"

"Yep.!"

Rinoa and Callie went through to the back room of the pub and as soon as Rinoa shut the door, Callie said "Tell me! What happened? Who, where and when? Details!"

Callie certainly loved gossip.

"Okay. But you have to promise not to tell anybody. Anybody at all."

"Okay I promise. Now spill."

"Well, remember how I told you I was engaged?"

Callie looked at Rinoa strangely "Well yes because it was earlier today, remember. you're engaged to Jay, hence the nice sparkling ring."

"No, I don't mean Jay! I mean…" Rinoa lowered her voice "Remember how I told you I was engaged once before, before I came here to Timber.?"

"Oh yeh. When you were younger. That guy from Garden right? Squall or something."

"Yeh, Squall Leonhart. Will I kind of bumped into him earlier…literally."

"Really? Where?"

"In the post office."

"Why was he in the post office in Timber. I thought he lived in Balamb?"

"He was on a SeeD mission I think."

"Wow. What was it like when you saw him?"

"It was…confusing. I mean, I was actually kind of happy to see him. It was like, I hadn't realised it, but when I saw him I realised I kind of missed him. A little. And then I couldn't help thinking about when we were together."

"But, you are over him right?"

"Yes, of course! I love Jay so much. But is it wrong that I maybe want to still keep some contact with Squall? I mean, before, it was always too hard. But now I'm secure and I'm settled would it be so bad for us to be friends?"

"I guess not. I mean, I suppose he was a huge part of your life. You are who you are because of your past, and your past with him is always going to be there, you're never going to forget him are you. You were together what, 3 years? There must be so many memories there, no one expects you to want to throw that all away."

Rinoa was glad she had told Callie. It comforted her to know somebody else understood.

"Oh good. Plus I kind of …um…invited him to the engagement party."

But instead of looking shocked, as Rinoa had assumed she would, Callie looked happy.

"So I get to meet your Ex-Fiancé?"

"Yeh, I guess you do."

"Wow. I mean, its just that when you told me about you two he always sounded pretty nice."

"He was, he was a god guy. We just didn't work."

"Does Jay know he's coming?"

"No. I haven't told him yet. I will soon, I don't think he'll mind though. He 's too perfect."

"Alright, rub it in." Callie muttered darkly.

"Oh, I have something else to ask you. Will you be my maid of honour?"

"Really?? Me?? I'd love to!"

"What are we ladies talking about?" Jay asked, wandering into the room.

Rinoa hesitated…she did not want to lie to him, but this was not the right moment to tell him.

"Uhmm…bridesmaid stuff." Callie covered "You know, make up, dresses, hair, shoes."

Jay shrugged "Not my department" he grinned before leaving the room again.

"Thanks Callie. I just couldn't lie to him. This is all pretty complicated."

"You know what, forget it! We have a party to plan."

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Rinoa was incredibly nervous when the day of the party arrived. The guest list had grown massively over the last week and she now had lots more people to accommodate than she had planned. Luckily, Jays house was large enough for everyone, and all the details food and drink, were sorted. But that was not what was bugging her. It was her decision that was playing on her mind, her decision to invite her ex-fiancé to her engagement party. She now could not wholly understand why she did it. It would more than likely cause some sort of trouble, and what was she going to tell Jay about it all.

She couldn't lie to him. But she couldn't tell him.

It also didn't help that this was not her first engagement party. Every time she thought about that she couldn't help but worry that this could end up the same way.. she knew she shouldn't think that…but she did.

She had been finding it hard not to think about Squall after she had seen him that day, but luckily whenever she was with Jay the only thoughts that filled her head where of him and how incredibly happy she was. She loved Jay, and she couldn't wait to marry him. And when everyone arrived and starting congratulating her and talking about the upcoming wedding she forgot completely all her troubling thoughts.

But then she had to dash around playing mad host, checking on everyone and if they were having a good time.

"Uh-oh" Jay said, sliding his arm around Rinoas' waist "here comes my Sister. Just smile and nod."

"Tanya's here?"

"Yep."

Rinoa couldn't believe this. This partly was rapidly turning into a drama. Not only was her ex going to be there, but now his ex was too.

"Oh my god" Selphie, who had arrived not long ago, said running over to Rinoa, "You wont believe who just walked in!"

"Tanya?"

"Yeh, and Seifer! They came together!"

Rinoa panicked even more. Now she had both her exes there-although Squall was yet to show-and Tanya was there to top it all off. It was like 6 years ago all over again.

"Who's Seifer?" Jay asked looking puzzled.

But before Rinoa had a chance to answer, Callie pulled her aside form the conversation.

"What's up Rinoa? You like kind of… pale."

"I'm…I'm fine."

"Good. Now look." Callie pointed to the door "Totally hot guy just walked in, who is he?"

"That's Squall." Rinoa said feeling herself smile for some reason.

Callies jaw dropped "That's your ex fiancé?"

"Yeh."

"I so hate you right now." Callie said playfully.

"Charming." Rinoa laughed. She raised her hand in the air and waved getting Squall attention.

"Hey." he said, coming over to them "Congratulations"

"Thanks Squall." She said reaching up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem. Here, I bought you some champagne."

"Aww thank you. That's so sweet."

"I'm Callie by the way."

"Hey. I'm Squall."

"Oh Squall." Rinoa said, "I should probably tell you that…"

But before Rinoa could finish her sentence, somebody went "Well well well, Squall Leonhart."

"Seifer. " Squall shook his head "Why is he here?"

"I came with Tanya." he said.

"Tanya?"

"Tanya is Jays sister." Rinoa said.

"Surely you remember me." Tanya said sarcastically, now appearing behind Seifer.

"How could I forget." Squall sighed.

"And Rinoa…" Tanya said, rolling her eyes "Certainly haven't forgotten you. First it was my boyfriend, now its my brother. You don't change do you.?"

Rinoa was completely surprised by this girls rudeness. It had been years, why wasn't she over it?

"Get over it Tanya." Squall sighed "That's not why we're here."

"I figured you wouldn't want to talk about it." Tanya snapped.

"It was six years ago."

"Feels like yesterday." Seifer laughed sarcastically. "So Squall, you all alone? How sad."

"Shut up Seifer."

"Hey you guys." Jay said, walking over "What's going on? And who are you?" he said to Squall.

"I'm…."  
"He used to be engaged to Rinoa." Tanya said, clearly enjoying herself. Rinoa didn't remember her being this mean.

"What?" Jay said, seeming to become very annoyed, very quickly.

"Yeh. Well, we actually used to date too, but then he cheated on me with Rinoa."

"actually, you cheated on me with him." Squall said, indicating Seifer.

"Oh yeh, he also used to date Rinoa." Tanya said smugly.

"Rinoa can I have a word please?" Jay said, his voice a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

Then he pulled her aside "You invited your ex-fiancé?"

"Yeah. I kind of bumped into him and invited him. I'm so sorry it just slipped my mind and I never told you."

"And what's all this with Tanya? I thought you didn't know her."

So Rinoa had no choice but to very briefly explain the whole story to him, the story of Squall, Tanya and Seifer. And when she was talking about it, it occurred to her how long ago it really was.

"Well" Jays said stiffly, "I think we need to talk about it later. But now we might want to do something before those guys get into a fight."

At that moment, Callie came running over to them "Um Rinoa, I think those guys are about to start a huge fight."

"we need to do something" Rinoa sighed, her party was turning into a disaster.

"Okay!" Callie said looking as if she had an idea. Then she stood up on the chair and yelled to get peoples attention "Ladies and Gentleman!!! I'm Callie, I'm the maid of honour and I'd like to make a small toast!"

Rinoa was grateful to Callie, although this might be an even bigger disaster, given that she was totally winging it.

"Well" she begun "I just want to say firstly, congratulations to Rinoa and Jay. I really couldn't be happier for them. I've seen them together for the past year or so, from when they first met, right up to this moment and just from that one year I am so sure that their marriage will last forever. I've never seen two people so completely in love. I've never seen more respect than when these two speak to each other, I've never seen so much happiness as when they are together and I've never seen so much warmth as when these guys look at each other. So I wish you guys a life time of happiness, more than I can express. So once again, to Rinoa and Jay, congratulations!"

Rinoa felt tears in her eyes the speech had been so beautiful. Bit it made her realise something too. It didn't matter. Tanya, Seifer, Squall the whole thing was in the past. She loved Jay now and that was the present, all that mattered.

"I love you." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too."

Fortunately the evening ran a little smoother after that. Tanya and Seifer appeared to have gone and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Selphie of course was dancing, while Jay actually seemed to have hit it off with Irvine and they were off talking over by all the drinks. Rinoa was glad they got on, it at least meant she could keep some link between her past and her present.

"Hey Rinoa." Squall said, tapping her on the shoulder "Could I maybe have a word with you?"

"Sure." Rinoa said "Is everything alright?"

"Yeh. I just need to talk to you."

"Well it's a little loud in here. Um lets go over there." Rinoa said and she went over and sat on the stairs outside the room.

"Alright I have to tell you something."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Alright. I'm telling you this because I don't think it's fair to be here without you knowing why so I'm going to be honest."

"What are you talking about?"

Squall took a deep breath "I still love you Rinoa. And I want you back."

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**Pardon Squall….what was that?????ahh hes crazy hehehe. Again sorry for the delay annd hope you enjoyed.**


	5. Memories inside

**A/N: Hey another chapter! sorry for the delay been having lots and lots going on lately but hopefully can get this back to a good update speed and hope y'all will enjoy it. lots of thanks to anyone reading so far and hope you are liking it. also want to thank rinnyheartillyizawesome, shes really been keeping me motivated with this story and lots of other stoo. so enjoy**

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What?! Had Rinoa just heard what she had thought she heard? She couldn't have….it was ridiculous, it was completely unbelievable!

"W-what?" Rinoa echoed….this had to be a joke.

"I want you back Rinoa"

"You're crazy" she said slowly. He was crazy, absolutely insane. She could not believe any of this. "you have got to be kidding."

"I'm not, Rinoa, I want you back.."

"Is this why you came here?"

"No, I came because you invited me."

"No, I mean why you came to Timber?"

"No, I really was here on work. I didn't even know you were here. But I saw you and I started thinking back, thinking about you and about us and I realised I want you back."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rinoa said, putting her head in her hands.

"because you deserve to know why I'm here. I'm going to get you back Rinoa I'll do whatever it takes."

"I'm engaged Squall"

"I know, its complicated. But, still, I know what I want."

"you should know you don't even have a chance. We broke up 3 years ago Squall, we are in the past."

"If that's what you believe then fine, but you should know I'm not going to give up yet."

Rinoa shook her head "You have no right to tell me any of this, I don't want to know."

"I have the right to do whatever I want. I'm not doing anything wrong."

"yes, you are. What do you think gives you the right to come here and try and interfere with my life, and try and mess up what I have with Jay. Why would you do that? Cant you accept that I'm happy?"

"I'm glad your happy but I think you would be happier with me, and I think deep down you know that."

"you're wrong"

"Am I? Really? If you can honestly tell me you never think about me at all and you havent ever thought of me since you've been with this Jay guy, if you can honestly tell me you feel absolutely nothing at all for me then I'll go back to Balamb and you'll never see me again."

Rinoa knew that was exactly what she needed to tell Squall, and exactly what she should have told him. But she couldn't, she wasn't able to, the words just wouldn't come out. It was like she was holding her self back from saying it because deep down she knew it wasn't true. She did think about him. She didn't want to, but she did.

"Look…" Squall said in that same calm and cool tone he had always had "I get it, you're going to need time. And this all may seem strange to you, but I'm serious. All I'm asking you to do is think about it. Think about what you really want."…

And later that night it was all Rinoa could think about. She had managed to explain to Jay the whole incident with Squall and Tanya and Seifer, it had been awkward but eventually he had understood, just as Rinoa had known he would. She knew it was better that she told him, and yet she couldn't tell him about what had happened with Squall at the end of the evening. Because, what did it matter? It was not like she had any intention of even thinking about considering going back to Squall. She knew she loved Jay and with him was exactly where she wanted to be and it was were she had every intention of staying no matter what. So why even mention any of it to Jay? Why upset him, why cause trouble? Rinoa didn't want to do anything to lose him, he was everything to her, he was more than she could ever have dreamt of. He truly did make her happy.

But it seemed to her that night, and as the following days went on, that she was almost fighting herself. Every time she thought of how happy Jay made her a little voice in her head kept telling her 'Squall made you happy too'. And as much as she tried, she couldn't shake that thought form her head. She just tried to ignore it, after all she had a wedding to plan. There was so much to be done, especially considering her and Jay had now set the date. May 30th, 4 months away. At first 4 months seemed like plenty of time to Rinoa, but that was until she learned exactly how much there was to do. She had only just begun planning the wedding last time…when it all went wrong. And it was all so long ago that all of this planning seemed new to her. But she was excited. She was planning what was going to be the best day of her life, the most special day. She wanted it to be perfect. There were so many little details to think about, like flowers and music as well as bigger details such as locations, bridesmaids, guests, and most importantly, choosing the dress. It was going to be a lot of work, but she knew she would enjoy it. She enjoyed everything about being with Jay and most of all she enjoyed knowing she would be with him for the rest of her life.

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Squall lay back on the bed in his hotel room and stared at the ceiling above him. Things had not exactly gone according to plan in the past few weeks of his life. He hadn't wanted to come to Timber on this damn mission anyway, and he had certainly not planned to run into Rinoa. He had honestly not known she was in Timber, but when he did see her…it was like something happened. Like everything he had forgotten ignored and pushed to the back of his mind in the past 3 years was back. Everything he felt for her, everything he had ever felt for her suddenly reappeared. It was everything he had fought against in 3 years. Because all thought he had moved on in most aspects of his life, he had never found anyone he loved as much as he loved her. And no matter what happened, he had loved her.

It had obviously faded over the years, but in some way, it was still completely there. And seeing her made it all too real. The first thing that came back to him was all the painful memories, the end of it all. Because while everyone at the time had been feeling incredibly sorry for Rinoa, people seemed to forget that he was hurt too, it was hard for him as well, he lost just as much when they split.

But during the time since he had first seen her and the party, the better memories came back and there were way more of those than there were bad. They had so many good times in the years they were together, both before and after they got engaged. They had been so young, they had met so strangely. It hadn't been young love or superficial love. It was true love…at least back then…

He only recently realised that he still loved her now. And he finally realised the thing he had felt had been missing in his life for the past few years was her, it was Rinoa. He knew he needed to do something to try and get her back, and he had decided he had to tell her at the party. Of course it hadn't gone as he'd expected, although truthfully he hadn't known what to expect. He knew it would sound strange to her, especially since she now had found herself someone else, who was an annoyingly nice guy. But he had told her anyway, even though it wasn't like him atall.

But it had been a week since the party. And he heard nothing, he had given Rinoa a number but he hadn't heard from her. He had to wonder if he had any impact at all on her? Did she ever really think about him?

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**Well i hope you enjoyed it! let me know what you think and i'll update soon! **


	6. Desicions

**A/n: Sorry for the delay, exams suck!!!!!!** **i am trying to get back my regular update schedule now. Thanks to everyone whose been supporting (Especially Rinnyheartillyizawesome who i know has been looking forward to an update XD) but thanks everyone. enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. :D  
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Rinoa had assumed that as more days passed she would forget about what had happened and forget about Squall. But she couldn't shake the thoughts from her mind and so she threw herself into planning the wedding. But it seemed something, maybe fate in someway, would not let her forget. One morning she was getting ready to go to work and was looking for a pair of earrings she had borrowed from Callie, which she needed to return. It was a small thing, a pointless tiny thing, and yet it had such a large effect…

Being rather unorganised, Rinoa had one draw in her room were lots of things just tended to get thrown. She hated it if she ever had to find things in there, because it was so immensely full of junk. She opened the drawer and starting routing amongst things to find Callie's earrings. Receipts, CD's, broken jewellery, books…what wasn't in there? Eventually she found Callie's earrings, after taking almost everything else out.

Realising she was now late, she started hastily piling things back into the draw, but as she picked up one of the books, something fell out and floated to the floor. Leaning down to pick it up, she saw it was a photograph, and she sank down to the floor with all the emotion she suddenly felt.

It was an old photo, of her and Squall, taken on the night they had gotten engaged. Even now Rinoa had to admit it had been an amazing night, and looking at that photograph brought back every last memory of it…

"_Okay, smile!" Selphie said, clicking the shutter on the camera "oh my gosh, that's such a cute one!" she sighed happily. She had been taking photographs all night, to commemorate the occasion. It was a big night. Aside form the obvious thing of Squall and Rinoa's engagement it had also been the night of Selphie, Squall and Zell had all graduated as SeeD. After the formal party at which they had all been officially confirmed as SeeD-and at which Squall had proposed- they had all headed into town for a night of celebration. The shiny, dancing lights in the bar seemed to fit how everybody was feeling, everybody was so happy. But Rinoa was happier than anyone, and so much had changed that she was a little overwhelmed. Slipping out, she stood outside in the night, just staring up at the sky. She needed time, just a few minutes to calm down from all the happiness and excitement But she was so happy she felt tears start to fill up her eyes._

"_Hey, everything alright, Rinoa?" Squall said, appearing behind her._

"_Yeah." she said, wiping her eyes "I'm just so happy."_

"_you sure?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist :you're not having second thoughts are you?"_

"_No, of course not. How could I even think about having second thoughts?"_

"_Just checking."_

"_No. I just…I am really too happy. I'm just so glad that I found you and so glad you wanted me. I didn't know I could be this happy. I used to think I would never find anybody, but you are just so right for me. I just used to feel so alone and…"_

"_Forget the past. All that matters is the future. And you're future is with me. You wont feel alone ever again."_

"_I love you so much Squall"_

"_I love you too, I always will"_

_And then they just stood there, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. No one really needed to say anything, it only mattered that they were together. And they started there until it started to turn towards sunrise, and the stars started to fade._

Tears fell from Rinoa's eyes. Why couldn't she forget any of this? Why did these memories have to keep coming back to her? She remembered how beautiful and amazing those stars had been, how they had lit up the sky, as much as love had lit up her life.

But they faded away, just like everything else had faded away. And maybe they never came back.

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"I definitely wouldn't know which one to chose." Callie said, shaking her head, her long her swaying, the pink streaks she had recently added catching the light. "it is impossible. They are both perfect…they are both so right for you."

"I don't know either, Callie." Rinoa sighed, looking again at the two dresses Callie was holding up.

They had already spent hours trying to chose the perfect wedding dress. It had been one of the first things towards planning the wedding that she had done. It had been a few weeks since the party now and Rinoa was gradually distancing herself from what had happened. But there were always some reminders. Even this. She really was enjoying choosing her dress and the excitement about marrying Jay were always in the front of her mind. But at the back of her mind were these nagging memories. She'd been through this process before, and she had found the perfect dress, she just never got to wear it. Everything she had contributed to the wedding reminded her of when she planned her first wedding and that only lead to the bitter painful memories of how it ended.

She still had the dress. She knew she shouldn't have kept it really, but she did. It really was the perfect dress, the most beautiful she had ever seen. It was a satin dress, a corset style top leading down to a fitted waist and flowing lace and silk skirt. Underneath there was a thin layer of lace that covered her arms. It truly was perfect, so delicate and beautiful. It was the only dress she could see herself marrying Squall in. And that was why she had kept it. She had-at least until she met Jay-hoped deep down that Squall would come back to her and they would have that dream wedding down to the last detail. As time passed she knew that would never happen but still she could not bring herself to get rid of the dress, it was like part of her in a strange way.

And now she had to chose again. She knew no dress would ever be so perfect, but it didn't feel right even considering marrying Jay in that dress

Rinoa and Callie had narrowed it down to two dresses, both equally beautiful. And after several hours they managed to get it down to one. She found her dress. It was a beautiful, traditional wedding dress. It was a beautiful beaded top with tiny rosettes decorating the straps and flowing sleeves which gracefully flared out at the elbow creating a beautiful silhouette, and the skirt went from a tiny waist outwards to a wide skirt. It really was enchanting, and she loved it. After that the real planning of the wedding needed to start. Next decision was on the bridesmaid dresses (which Callie insisted should be pink) and then there was finalising the decision of were it would take place. There was a small church just outside of Timber that was surrounded by a beautiful field of flowers , away from the towns busyness and that was the place Rinoa wanted. But throughout all this planning, every time she discussed it with Jay there was a feeling of guilt because she couldn't stop thinking how it all had been the first time around. They were going to marry on the beach, her and Squall, at sunset. It was going to beautiful and just their closest friends would be there. It was planned to be what she had always dreamed. But the dream didn't come true, it didn't work out. But now she had a new dream…didn't she?

…

Rinoa knew she shouldn't have been there, but she had to go. She had to talk about it. She loved jay…but she knew the only way to lay to rest all these feeling she had been having was to see him, talk to him one last time. Nervously she knocked on the hotel room door. She didn't even know if he'd be there, she hadn't called, she hadn't even planned to come by, she just had to. It was all so impulsive and last minute. When the door Finally opened Squall was standing there and he locked rather shocked "Rinoa?"

"Can I come in? We need to talk"

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**So she went to see Squall…we knew she would, right? Hahanah I wonder what she wants to say to him.**

**(btw I did some sketches and found some pictures that I kind of worked off when describing the dresses, so just put these into your url bar if you want to see (excuse the drawing!) http://i122. and http://i122. **

**.Anyway!!! hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll update soon!**


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